CA orders DOJ to file rape and lasciviousness cases against Vhong Navarro albeit the 2014 incident with model Deniece Cornejo.
The Court of Appeals (CA) 14th Division reversed the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2018 and 2020 dismissing the complaint filed by model Deniece Milinette Cornejo in 2014 accusing actor and television host Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro of attempted rape.
DOJ previously ruled that the rape complaints lacked probable causes. In the first complaint, DOJ prosecutors said that there were “major inconsistencies” in Cornejo’s complaint-affidavits. In the second one, DOJ denied it since it appeared "that the sexual encounter between Cornejo and Navarro was consensual.” The third complaint was also junked because there was no proof of intent to penetrate.
“It was erroneous for the DOJ to deny Cornejo’s petition for review on the ground that her statements in the complaint-affidavits are inconsistent and incredible. In this regard, it bears to stress that the determination of probable cause does not depend on the validity or merits of a party’s accusation or defense or on the admissibility or veracity of testimonies presented,” the CA said.
The court said that the matter of determining who is telling the truth would be adjudged during the trial proper.
Credibility must be adjudged at trial proper
“Issues of credibility should be adjudged during the trial proper. It goes without saying that it is the trial court that has the unique power and position to observe the witnesses’ deportment, manner of testifying, emphasis, gesture, and inflection of the voice, all of which are potent aids in ascertaining the witnesses’ credibility,” it added. “However artful a corrupt witness may be, there is generally, under the pressure of a skillful cross-examination, something in his manner or bearing on the stand that betrays him, and thereby destroys the force of his testimony.”
CA directed the Prosecutor of Taguig City to file rape and acts of lasciviousness against Navarro for allegedly sexually abusing Cornejo.
The incident blew up in public last 2014 after Cornejo, in her affidavit, accused Navarro of raping her on January 17 and 22 of 2014.
It was on the second night that Navarro was mauled by the group of businessman Cedric Lee after allegedly catching Navarro attempting to rape Cornejo. Navarro alleged that he was attacked and was a victim of extortion by Cornejo, Lee, and their other friends.
Tags: #rape, #DOJ, #CA